Slat link closure



7, 1956 K. T. KIEFER 2,731,082

SLAT LINK CLOSURE Filed Nov. 10, 1954 l i l United States Patent SLAT LINK CLOSURE Kurt T. Kiefer, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Kurdon, Inc.,

Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 10, 1954, Serial No. 468,015 Claims. or. 160-118) This invention relates to a new and improved slat link closure for curtain type Venetian blinds. The new closure device insures perfect closure and safe opening of the Venetian blind curtain.

Problems have existed for some time as to connecting and disconnecting the lower ends of central slat links in curtain type Venetian blinds. In ordinary fabric curtains a light-seal is eifected by overlapping their inner vertical edges but in Venetian blinds this is impossible. Asa result, special fasteners were tried, but these had the effect that opening and separating operations became unsafe and resulted in damage to the slats.

Devices of the present kind are often operated casually and sometimes carelessly by children and even by grownups. Therefore the lack of safety which has arisen from the fastening difiiculties has presented a very real and substantial problem. The problem is overcome by the present construction, as will be explained hereinafter.

It is an achieved object of the invention that gathering of the curtain type slats is effected in a smooth and efficient manner and without interference by the central fasteners.

The new invention consists basically in the combination of a special hook with a special catch. These two .mernbersare special (I) as'to those portions thereof whereby they interact in a hook and catch operation. That is (a) the hook has a particular profile in a vertical plane and (b) the catch has a particular configuration in horizontal planes. The two members are special also '(II) as to other parts, which cooperate with other slat links of the blind and control their gathering, separating, sliding, connecting and disconnecting. In this latter respect '(II) the present invention is an improvement over and continuation in part of the applicants co-pending application Serial No. 436,429, 'filed on June 14, 1954.

The exact details as to said configurations and operations, as to the preferred materials used and other features employed will best be understood as this application proceeds. In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic front view of a small Venetian blind installation in accordance herewith, seen from the inside of the room, with the slat curtains fully extended.

Figure 2 is a detail, on a larger scale, from a lower central part of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view the section being taken along lines 3-3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a view generally similar to Figure 1 but showing the slat curtains in process of being separated.

Figure 5 is a view generally similar to Figure 2 but showing the parts in positions corresponding with Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the parts shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Referring first to Figure l:

The Venetian blind is basically formed by a pair of blind curtains 10, 11, both consisting of suitable numbers "ice 1 2 of vertical slats 12 with the desired length, color, surfac finish, etc.

The slats 12 are hung from and by a top mechanism 13, desirably concealed by a head box 14, which allows the slats to slide conjointly across the plane of the window 15 and to tilt identically about vertical axes. The sliding of the slats across the window plane, for the 'purposes of gathering and separating the curtains,'is controlled by a pair of pull cords 16. Their tilting is controlled by a pair of tilt cords 17.

Referring now to Figures 2, 3 and 6:

Identical slat links 18 are provided to control the lower ends of all slats 12, except those at the outer and inner edges of each blind curtain. At the inner or left-hand edge of the right curtain 10 there is provided a special slat link and hook unit 19 and at the inner or right-hand end of the left curtain 11, a special slat link and catch unit 20. These special units 19, 20 resemble the other slat links 18 in that each of them has a slat holder 21. Unit 19 has a sliding bar portion 22 and is pivoted to the slat holder by a pivot pin 23 about a normally vertical axis adjacent the middle of the slat holder. Said pin 23 is journaled 'in' a guide and stop portion 24 at one end of the corresponding link which portion has a socket 25 for this purpose. I

The parts 21, 23, '24 and 25 can be the same for all slat links 18,19 and 20. The parts 22, 24 are rigid with one another.

The sliding bar 22 of the link and hook member 19 extends in a normally horizontal direction from the corresponding'guide and stop portion 24 to a hook portion 26 at the opposite end of the bar. The sliding bar 22, be tween the guide and stop 24 and hook 26, is an elongated, horizontally extending bar of approximately rectangular, vertically oriented cross section to provide a proper fastening, guiding and spacing element for the innermost slat 12 of the right-hand curtain 10.

The hook 26 extends downwardly from the end of the sliding -bar"22, in a vertical plane. It has a catch-engaging edge 27 which extends away from the bar 22 in a downward direction slightly less than normal to the lower ordinarily horizontal edge 28 of the bar. That is, the edges 27 and 28 may be approximately straight andjinclude an angle at their juncture which is slightly less than 90 degrees; for instance about degrees. However it is sufiicient if such an angle is included between the lower edge 28 and the general direction of the depending edge 27; it being quite satisfactory if the depending edge 27 forms a slightly curved arc concave to the edge 28, either in the region of juncture of the edges or throughout the depending edge. It is only important that the general direction of the depending edge 27 be ordinarily lessthan normal to the horizontal.

'The link and catch element 20 has a sliding bar 29 which may generally resemble the sliding bar 22 of the link and hook member 19. However at the inner end of this sliding bar 29 there is provided an upwardly open catch portion 30. This catch portion has a horizontal part 31 which extends away from the lower edge of the bar 30, at right angles thereto, and a vertical part 32 extending in a plane slightly spaced from and parallel to said bar 30. The horizontal part 31 has an edge 33 adjacent the stop 24, adapted to engage the depending edge 27 of the hook 26. It also has a terminal edge 34, adapted to contact the bottom edge 28 of the hook bar 22. The vertical portion 32 of the catch 31 serves to hold the hook 19 against lateral sliding off when in operative position. Thus the slat curtains can be secured together securely even in the event that they swing across the window plane due to wind or the like. In fact tension on the hook and catch, due to such swinging, makes the connecting action at 27, 33 more secure. The slats of the interconnected right and left hand curtains 10, 11 can also be tilted by operation of the tilt cord 17 and the consequent rotation of the slat holders 21 will not interfere with the firm engagement between the hook and catch 18, 19.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5 1 In order to open the curtain blind, the top portions of the innermost slats 12 are separated from one another by operation of the proper pull cord 16. At the start of this separating movement the hook and catch units 19, at the lower end of the blind are still engaged with one another. The innermost slats 12 therefore tend to assume V-shaped positions, as shown.

correspondingly inclined positions are then assumed by the slat holders 21, pivot pins 23, sockets 25, guide members 24 and bars 22, 29 of the link members 19, 20. This ordinarily causes the lower hook edge 28 to pivot about the edge 34 of the catch, thereby in turn causing the depending hook edge 27 to slide up along the edge 33 of the catch. These turning and sliding operations are performed smoothly and with very insignificant friction mainly if the parts providing said edges are of metal such as aluminum. It is also possible, under certain operating conditions, that the bars 22, 29 pivot about the edge 33 not 34 as they assume their inclined positions. In either case the hook and latch action becomes inoperative when a certain inclination of the slats, etc. has been reached. Thereupon the outward pull of the slats causes the hook and latch elements 19, 20 to slide apart and the slats are free to swing back into their normal vertically hanging positions.

Such swinging back is only slowed up to a slight extent by the friction of the slide bars 35 on the slat links 18 of each curtain. These bars slide in the guide and stop portions 24 of the adjacent slat links, in the manner described in my said application Serial No. 436,429.

It may here be noted that the bars 35 of the ordinary slat links 18 can also turn in their stop and guide members 24. However they can turn only to a limited extent and can practically not turn when operated and inclined in the manner as here described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. The details may be noted in said earlier application Serial No. 436,429. By contrast the hook and upwarclly opening catch are practically free to turn to any required extent, in the manner as described in order to insure proper separation of the link chain between units 19 and 20.

The hook and catch units 19, 20 can be manufactured very simply, using portions of the standard links 18 as principal parts. The slat holders 21, pivot pins 23, sockets and guide and stop portions 24 can be identical for all links 18, 19, 20 as mentioned and can be made from plastics such as nylon. The bars 22, 29 of the special links 19, 2%, with the hook and catch ends 26, thereon, can be made from metal such as aluminum and fastened to the plastic parts as by rivets 36.

In order to facilitate manual interconnecting of the hook and catch 19, 20 it may be desirable to provide these elements with handle portions 37, preferably extending laterally away from the corresponding guide and stop portions 24. In the form as best shown in Figures 3 and 6 the handle portions 37 are integral with the bars 22, 29 and inclined therefrom at angles of about 135 degrees. It has been found that such arrangement makes the connecting operation most simple. The handles 37 can be held between two fingers of each hand. In this manner the hook and catch elements 26, 30, to be interengaged, can be manipulated efficiently when interconnecting them, whereas their automatic separation can proceed smoothly and reliably when the cord 16 is pulled to open the blind curtains.

Various details can be changed within the scope of this invention. This scope is claimed as follows:

1. A slat link connector for a Venetian blind of the curtain type with vertical slats, said connector consisting in a pair of hook and catch members, each of said members comprising an elongated bar adapted to be horizontally positioned in the plane of the blind; a guide unit secured to one end of each bar and slidably connectable with a similar bar of an adjacent slat link; a slat holder on each guide unit, pivoted thereto for rotation about an axis normal to the corresponding bar and adapted to hold the lower end of an innermost slat of the blind; an upwardly open catch secured to the bar of the catch member at the end opposite the guide unit of that bar; and a hook secured to and downwardly extending from the bar of the hook member at the end opposite the guide unit of this last-mentioned bar, said last-mentioned bar having a lower edge adapted to rest on said catch and said hook having a depending edge extending in a general direction less than normal to said lower edge, whereby longitudinal tension between the hook and catch members ordinarily tends to close the connector but such tension automatically opens the connector when the upper ends of the innermost slats are moved away from one another.

2. A slat link connector as described in claim 1 wherein the depending edge of the hook is approximately straight and forms an angle of approximately degrees with said lower edge of the corresponding bar.

3. A slat link connector as described in claim 2 wherein the catch has two horizontal edges, spaced along the corresponding bar, one adapted to support the lower edge of the hook member and the other adapted to engage the depending edge of the hook.

4. A slat link connector as described in claim 1 wherein each member additionally comprises a handle angularly extending forward from its bar adjacent the corresponding guide unit.

5. A slat link connector as described in claim 1 wherein the guide unit and the slat holder of each member consist of plastic such as nylon whereas the catch, the hook and their bars consist of metal such as aluminum, riveted to said plastic.

No references cited. 

